This research update from Colin Mustaphi of the Carleton University Paleoecological Laboratory relates to fire research with the Healthy Landscapes program.
Lake sediment records are used to reconstruct long term fire and vegetation histories through the analysis of macroscopic charcoal, plant remains, and pollen. These data are useful for interpreting the historical fire regime and how fire activity responded to climatic variability and changes to the vegetation cover and human activity. Knowledge about these past interactions is useful for understanding how ecosystems developed to what we see today and for informing land management decisions and projecting future scenarios or ecosystem change.
